Snowman - A Belly Full Of Cookies
10x8, soft pastel
The January 30 day challenge is winding down. But, I couldn’t resist one last snowman. By now, our epic snowfall for January (22 inches I believe) has melted and soon we’ll be anticipating spring! Yay!
Snowman With A Heart
10x8; soft pastel
Snowman - Lighting The Way
10x8, soft pastel
Snowman Chubby Little Cookie Jar
10x8, soft pastel
This little cookie jar is my favorite snowman. He’s quite old and the paint is full of fine cracks…but he’s still precious. He’ll stays out on the counter all winter long until the snow stops flying.
A Walk Through The Park
8x10, soft pastel
It was a gorgeous day in the park right after a rainfall. The colors were amazing and this piece was one of my favorite plein air pieces this year. The pink tipped green grasses really caught my eye. The colors that morning were amazing.
Marbles and Perfume
6x6, soft pastel
The Last Leaves To Fall
6x6, gouache and pastel
My ability to keep a poinsettia alive is nonexistent. I admire them, but I don’t try and keep them as a live plant throughout the year. So, today’s painting was an experiment using the last leaves to dry up and drop off. The substrate I used is a canvas board and the underpainting is gouache with each subsequent layer applied in soft pastel. The soft pastel layers were sprayed with fixative (true to form, each layer of fixative darkened the pastel pigment (which I really don’t like). So, the final top layer is fresh soft pastel unfixed by fixative. Once again confirming to myself, I simply don’t like to use fixatives. However, I do like the end result of this one. Have a joyful New Years Day! Today is day 1 of my very own 30in30. For me, 2024 will be the year of no rules…just paint! I’m already breathing a bit easier 😂
Dandy Little Dandelion
6x8, soft pastel
The final day of my Pastel Society of the West Coast 21n21 day challenge is the “lowly” little dandelion. Cursed by some...loved by some...and a delicacy to others. This little dandy dandelion is a true sign that summer is on its way!
Peachy
9x9, soft pastel
After painting this one, I decided I need to do more bouquets...I could use the practice and painting them makes me smile. 😊
Forsythia
9x6, soft pastel
Duece Violettes
8x6, soft pastel
Another spring flower are the beautiful purple violets. And, it’s another spring flower that we had at our house when I was growing up in Iowa. They bloomed each year under an old oak tree in our backyard. Ah, such good memories.
Lillies of the Valley
8x6, soft pastel
A childhood favorite. I always knew when spring had finally arrived once the Lillies of the Valley bloomed at our house. We had a large patch of them on the side of our old Victorian house. I enjoyed making little bouquets of them...their scent was intoxicating.
Sunbathing Tulips
6x6, soft pastel
Some of my favorite tulips are these deep purple ones that really pop with color once the sun hits them. I set up several vignettes a couple years ago using them...this photo being one of my favorites. I sure hope they come back up this year! I’m ready for all the colorful spring flowers to arrive.
Fancy Pants
6x8, soft pastel
While I was painting this one all I could think of was “fancy pants” for a title. It’s such a fancy, frilly type of bloom. So, when it came time to title the painting that’s all I could think of. So...here ya go!
Bun Planter with Petunias
6x6, soft pastel
6x6, soft pastel
I don’t always indulge myself and purchase the flowers I want to paint...sometimes, a quick snapshot of flowers at the grocery store is all I need for inspiration.
The Shot Felt ‘Round The World
8x8, soft pastel
When I got my second Pfizer vaccine shot I decided to ask if I could take a picture of the metal tray and syringe. While it’s not necessarily the best composition, it will forever remind me of the momentous occasion. I’m happy to do my part in this pandemic. As an “older” person, the vaccine only makes sense to me. Here’s hoping the vaccines now available will curb this awful virus so it becomes a more manageable and less dangerous virus world-wide.
Petite Iris
6x6, soft pastel
Last year, I purchased these tiny flowers and took several photos for a piece I did within a shot glass series in January. So, it’s fitting to use them again this year for my mini-series on spring flowers. Given how difficult 2020 was for us all...it’s refreshing to focus on the beauty of spring and all its colorful flowers. 2021 is already looking better for us all...in fact, today I get my second Pfizer vaccine shot. Things are indeed looking more hopeful even though the COVID19 virus is still among us. May you flourish in 2021.
Shamrocks
6x6, soft pastel
This little piece was made from my memories of searching for four leaf clovers as a child. I was often visiting my grandmother in St. Patrick, Missouri and because it’s St. Patrick’s day, I thought it would be a fitting subject matter. Both of these pieces are now on their way to new homes. I guess I’m not the only one that loves these little gems and the intrigue of finding an actual four leaf clover.
Pink Ballet
6x6, soft pastel
Another favorite spring flower of mine is the bleeding heart plant. I was in third grade and at the home of a good friend when she showed me these mesmerizing flowers in her mother’s flowerbed. I was amazed by them. I had never before seen such a perfect little heart shaped flower in mass dancing in the breeze. They are such a delightful little gift of spring.
